Of course we score the time trial.

Freshmen Jake Szalay was not just the fastest ninth grader in the race, he was the fastest kid on team Newtonheimer, which beat the second-place team (Fast car, bike, and one-wheel) by one point.

The names listed here highlight what will be a theme for Saline Boys Cross Country this year: newness. Seven of the ten athletes on Newtonheimer are new to the high school team. None of them have ever scored a point in a varsity cross country race. 

How does a mostly inexperienced team win the time trial?

First, in 2023 we welcome the largest freshmen class we have seen in many years. They are also the largest class on the team.

Another reason for all those new names is because we graduated 9 of our top 10 athletes from last year. That creates space for returning athletes like Liam Newton and Harold Crowner to move up the depth chart. If I can use a cliche, some might say this is a rebuilding year for Saline. Don't worry; we have other plans that we'll discuss later.

Finally, in addition to being large, the freshmen class is the most talented group we have ever seen in Saline. Long-time Saline XC fans are going to make comparisons like Voss, Hall, Wetzel, and what-not. But before we make comparisons, just enjoy watching our rookies make their own history.

Saline XC has been running three-mile time trials for at least 40 years, and while those have taken place on a variety of courses, only one kid (Nick Renberg, 2011) has ever gone faster than Truman did last night. Renberg went on to finish 3rd in the MHSAA State Championships. Collegiately, in 2015 Renberg helped Michigan to a Big Ten championship, a Great Lakes Regional championship, and a top-ten finish in NCAA National Championships.

We know last night's course is just over three miles, so Johnson was holding down sub-5:00 miles for three continuous miles. He deserves three pairs of sub-5:00 glasses. 

And if you saw his finishing lap, it was clear he had something left.

Beyond Johnson's ridiculous run, there were plenty of other individual highlights in C-group.

LaRusso's 15:54 is over 30 seconds a mile faster than what he ran in 2022. Meshinchi and Newton have rocketed on to the varsity scene, with Newton dropping over a minute compared to his 2022 time and Meshinchi moving nearly FOUR minutes head of his 2022 finish! Endres, Bonfig, and Bennett shared similar improvement, each running solid races that are far faster than what they did last year.

And in what we would describe as outrageous improvement, Matt Roehm ran nearly 6 minutes faster than he did in 2022! He's almost 2 minutes a mile faster. That improvement is the result of a ton of hard work and patience from Roehm.

Combined, all of that progress from our returning athletes is part of the reason why, despite graduating 9 of our top-10 from 2022, we can rest easy knowing that Saline Boys XC will still be competitive in 2023. 

Are the boys going to garner early-season rankings in the top three like the girls? Not a chance. 

Will the boys finish in the top ten of the state finals this year? Friday's time trial tells us they can.

Holy guacamole.

Geez, Louise.

Jeepers creepers.

Blimey.

Jake Szalay, Jake Cole, Jack Klein (boy, am I a going to mess up on those names) Michael Munson, and Ryan Steben are the five freshmen that made it into the top 15 of the trial. That is an absolutely bonkers injection of talent straight into the veins of Saline XC. We will feel their impact immediately. No patience required for Saline XC fans!!!

Munson was the top performer out of his training group, so he went home with the B-group champion jersey. 

Szalay, Cole, and Klein are instant contenders for the varsity lineup, and I struggle to explain how unusual that is without using a cliche. So I'm just going to say holy guacamole, geez Louise, jeepers creepers, and blimey.

All of these fab-five freshmen are ready to impact scoring for the varsity and reserve races this fall. Their immediate and long-term impacts on our program are fun to imagine.

I was mostly stuck at the finish line, working out issues with our timing system, so I missed most of the race but caught all of the finishes.

In the last 150m, Gabe Warren, Chis Walper, Chris Welt, and Alex Fischer all looked like they knew how to manage a finish. We value athleticism in Saline cross country, and those four show they have a lot of it with their impressive finishing form and speed.

Ryan Rummell, Adrian Sieh, and Carlos Basulto also grabbed some attention, with each running further up the lineup than expected. They are all ready for big seasons this fall.